Trash walker



y 30, 1968 w. E. TEN PAS ETAL 3,394,669

TRASH WALKER Filed Nov. 25, 1966 I5 Sheets-Sheet l I NVEN TORS. W. E. TEN PAS R. E. LOOMANS BY ATTORNEY July 30, 1968 w. E. TEN PAS ETAL 3,394,669

TRASH WALKER Filed Nov. 25, 1966 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 w E INVENTORS.

R. 'E. LOOMANS edzffw ATTORNEY W. E. TEN PAS ETAL July 30, 1968' TRASH WALKER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 25, 1966 I XVENTORS W. E. TEN PAS R E. LOOMANS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,394,669 TRASH WALKER Warren E. Ten Pas and Robert E. Loomans, Horicon,

Wis., assignors to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., a corporation of Delaware Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 432,793,

Feb. 15, 1965. This application Nov. 25, 1966, Ser.

2 Claims. (Cl. 11185) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A trash walker for use with a grain drill to prevent trash from accumulating between adjacent furrow openers. The trash walker includes radially outwardly extending fingers mounted on the press wheel axle of the grain drill for rotation with the press wheels. The fingers may be mounted for limited inward radial movement against the action of a spring device.

This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants copending US. application Ser. No. 432,793, filed Feb. 15, 1965, now abandoned.

The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements, and more particularly to planting implements such as grain drills and the like.

' One object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved trash walker which is easily adjusted for various field conditions.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable trash walker of low cost and high durability.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which the preferred form of this invention is illustrated.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portion of a grain drill illustrating the furrow openers and press wheels, the grain drill being provided with the trash walkers of this invention, the trash walkers being shown in their normal operating position.

FIG. 2 is a view of the trash walker associated with a press wheel in which the trash walker has been adjusted for very heavy trash conditions.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 in which the trash walker has been adjusted for muddy conditions.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the drill shown in FIG. 1, some parts being removed, illustrating the spacing of the trash walkers of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevation view, partly in section, of the hub and spring teeth of applicants trash walker.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the hub shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view through a spring tooth.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a modified trash walker.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are sections along the lines 99 and 10-10 in FIG. 8.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views of another modified trash walker similar to that shown in FIGS. 8 and 10.

3,394,669 Patented July 30, 1968 Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 4, the frame of the grain drill is indicated at 10. A generally vertical standard 12 is rigidly secured at its upper end to the frame 10 and rotatably carries an axle 14 in bearings 16 at its lower end. A plurality of pairs of press wheels 18 and 20 are mounted fixedly on the transverse axle 14.

The press wheels 18 and 20 of each pair are spaced apart an amount to receive a relatively narrow seed boot 22 which carries at its lower end a furrow opener indicated generally at 24. Each furrow opener includes a shovel 26 and rearwardly extending closely spaced apart plates 28. The boot 22 is constructed to receive at its upper end a flexible seed tube 30 that extends downwardly from a seed hopper (not shown) carried by the frame 10.

The seed boot 22 is provided with a forward arm 32 that is pivoted as at 34 to the rear end of an associated drag bar 36. The foregoing grain drill is more fully described in US. Patent 3,180,291 to Robert E. Loomans, issued Apr. 27, 1965.

The trash walker of this invention is indicated generally at 40 and includes a hub 42 and spring teeth 44. As can be seen from FIG. 4 a hub 42 is disposed adjacent the outer surface of each member of the pair of press wheels 18, 20. Each hub 42 is held adjacent its associated press wheel 18, 20 by means of spacer blocks 46 orother means not material to the present invention.

Each hub 42 is provided with a central aperture 48 which matingly engages the axle 14. Disposed on either side of the central aperture 48 are extensions that are apertured and slotted to receive spring teeth 44. Thus, each of the outer apertured extensions, which are indicated generally at 50, is provided with first and second slots 52, 54 that divide the extension into three portions. The first portion 56 is provided with a generally circular aperture 58, the second portion 60 is provided with a generally elliptical aperture 62 having a major axis extending generally parallel to the axle 14, and the third portion 64 also has a generally elliptical aperture having its major axis extending generally normal to the axle 14.

The spring teeth 44- are generally circular, as can best be seen from FIG. 7, and are provided with outwardly extending abutment means 70, the cross section of the teeth at the abutment means being generally elliptical, but slightly smaller than the apertures 66 and 62.

In normal operation the spring teeth 44 are inserted into the aperture of the portion 50 by inserting that end which is remote from the abutment portion 70 into the aperture 66 and passing the tooth and the abutment 70 through the aperture 66 and then rotating the tooth from the position it was in when the abutments passed through the aperture 66. The tooth is then locked in this position by means of the set screw 72. In this position the teeth will assume the position shown in FIG. 1 where the abutments 70 contact the abutment surface 71, this being the normal setting for the trash walker teeth. However, if very heavy trash conditions prevail, it may be necessary to have a more aggressive action on the part of the teeth 44. If this is the case, then the set screw is loosened and the abutment portion 70 is moved through the aperture 62 and the tooth is then rotated 90 where the abutment 70 contacts surface 73. The tooth is then 3 secured in its rotated position by means of the set screw 72. It should be noted that the abutment 72 firmly holds the teeth from sliding out of the extension 50 by having the abutment means 70 bear against the surface of the portion 60.

In very wet soil, mud can pack between the spring teeth and the press wheel, the mud tending to make a notch in the side of the furrow. Thus, if the drill is to be used in these conditions, the teeth are set in the position shown in FIG. 3.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 8-10 hubs 142, which are generally similar to the hubs 42, are mounted adjacent press wheels 18 and 20 on axle 14. Disposed on either side of the axle are substantially identical extensions 150 that receive spring teeth 144. Each of the teeth 144 is provided with a pin 152 that is transversely mounted adjacent one end, either end or both ends of the pin extending outwardly of the tooth, the other end 154 of the tooth is adapted to engage the ground. A boss 156 is formed on a midportion of the tooth and a spring 158 is disposed over the tooth and is normally held against a washer 160 which in turn bears against an end wall 162 of the extension 150.

Each extension 150 is suitably apertured to receive the spring tooth in such a manner that it may be held in two positions. To this end the extension is provided with a circular bore 164 which extends from the end wall 162 to substantially the other end of the extension. The bore 164 is of sufficient size to telescopically receive the tooth 154 which is circular in cross-section. A first groove 166 extends from the wall 162 to a first annular enlargement 168, the groove 166 and the annular recess being suitably sized to receive the transversely extending pin 152. A second groove 170 is disposed within the bore 164 at 90 to the first groove and parallel to it and extends from a point between the first annular recess 168 and the end wall 162 to the end 168a of the extension. A second annular recess 172 is disposed inwardly of the end 168a in communication with the groove 170. A third groove 174 is disposed at right angles to the groove 170 and is in communication with the second annular recess and extends towards the first annular recess but is separated from it by means of stop portions 176.

To assemble the modification shown in FIGS. 8-10 it is only necessary to push the spring tooth in from the grooved and bored end 162 with the pin passing through groove 166 until the pin abuts stops 176, at which time the pin is rotated 90 and then is permitted to be biased outwardly in the groove 170. This position is shown in FIG. 8 and is the setting used for trashy conditions. To

set the spring teeth in position for shipment or light mud it is then necessary to push in the tooth from the position shown in FIG. 8 until the end of the tooth abuts the grooved portions 178, at which point the tooth and pin are rotated another 90 to permit the pin to be biased into the groove 174. In heavy mud conditions it may be necessary to remove the. spring teeth, in which case the reverse procedure is followed.

It has been found that in operation the trash walkers assembled in the manner shown in FIG. 8 have been generally satisfactory. However, on occasion the rods have been lost. This has been due to the rods 144 turning when the pin 152 was disposed in the annular enlargement 168 until the pin 152 was in alignment with the groove 166, at which time the rod 144 was free to slide out of the bore 164. The rotational movement of the pin 152 in the groove 168 has been caused by an interaction of the spring 158 and rod 144 during compression of the spring. Thus when the spring 158 has been compressed the rod 144 is caused to rotate in a clockwise direction when viewed from the end 154 of the rod.

To improve the operation of the device shown in FIGS. 8-10 a slightly modified form of trash walker has been developed, this form being shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, in which the same numerals have been used for corresponding parts as in FIGS. 8-10. In the design shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 the annular enlargement 168 is partially filled in at 169 in the direction in which the rod would turn during compression of the helical spring 154.

To further reduce the chance of accidental loss of the rod 154 a roll pin 161 is pressed into a hole in washer 160. The pin is normally disposed within one of the grooves 166 and the end 161' remote from the washer extends into the recess 168 (shown in full lines in FIG. 11). In this position of the roll pin, the pin 152 cannot align itself with the groove 166.

To remove the rod 144, the washer 166 and roll pin 161 are pulled outwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 11, in which position the end 161 of the pin does not project into the recess 168. The rod can then be turned 'until the pin 152 is in alignment with groove 166 permitting removal of the rod.

While the preferred structure in which the principles of the present invention have been incorporated is shown and described above, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the particular details, shown and described above, but that, in fact, widely ditferent means may be employed in the practice of the broader aspects of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a grain drill having furrow opener means and press wheel means mounted to the rear of the furrow opener means, the combination therewith of a trash walker comprising: a plurality of teeth, each tooth having a transversely extending pin mounted therein adjacent one end, the ends of said pin extending outwardly of said tooth, teeth carrying means rotatably mounted on said drill, each of said carrying means being provided with a bore, first, second and third groove means, and first and second recess means, the bore telescopically receiving a tooth, the first groove means extending along a portion of and in communication with said bore and having one end in communication with the outer end of said teeth carrying means, the second groove means extending along another portion of and in communication with said bore, and angularly offset from the first groove means, the second groove means having its outer end a first distance from the outer end of said carrying means, the third groove means being disposed in communication with said bore and parallel to said first groove means, the first recess means being disposed within said carrying means and in communication with said bore, the first recess means intersecting said first and second groove means, the second recess means intersecting the second and third groove means and being spaced a second distance from outer end of said carrying means, the second distance being greater than the first distance, said groove means and said recess means being sized to receive said pin means, and spring means biasing each said teeth outwardly whereby the pin means may engage the outer end of said second or said third groove means to hold said associated tooth within said bore.

2. In a grain drill having furrow opener means and press wheel means mounted to the rear of the furrow opener means, the combination therewith of a trash walker comprising: a plurality of teeth, each tooth having a transversely extending pin mounted therein adjacent one end, the ends of said pin extending outwardly of said tooth, teeth carrying means rotatably mounted on said drill, each of said carrying means being provided with a bore, first and second groove means, and recess means, the bore telescopically receiving a tooth, the first groove means extending along a portion of and in communication with said bore and having one end in communication with the outer end of said teeth carrying means, the second groove means extending along another portion of and in communication with said bore and angularly offset from the first groove means, the second groove means having its outer end spaced at first distance from the outer end of said carrying means, the first recess means being disposed within said carrying means and in communication with said bore, the recess means intersecting the first and second groove means, said groove means and said recess means being sized to receive said pin means, spring means biasing each of said teeth outwardly whereby the pin means may engage the outer end of said second groove means to hold said associated tooth within said groove, and washer means disposed between the resilient means and the tooth carrying means, said washer carrying a pin disposable within said first groove means and being of a length greater than the distance of the first groove between said one end and the intersection of the first groove with the recess means whereby the end of the pin may project into the recess means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Skinner.

Jones 111-32 Richards 172549 Peacock 11185 Purdy 287-103 Simon 172-55 6 X Burgess 287-103 Kaufmann 287-103 ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner. A. E. KOPE'CKI, Assistant Examiner. 

